Sample Paint

Indecision is the worst. Painting our dining room wall, I'm having a hard time deciding between "date," "omar," and "olive branch." What if we hate the color once the wall is completely painted? How can we justify such wasted expense, time and effort? So I'm in danger of getting stuck, forever striping the wall with swaths of sample paint, never committing to anything. Working with aspiring authors, I hear a similar line of questioning. What if I write it first person, and it turns out badly? What if I include the section on the 1990's and decide it doesn't fit? Won't it be awful if I have to write the whole thing all over again? Expecting to make perfect decisions your first draft is silly. Throw as much paint on the wall as you like - in fact, go ahead and paint the whole darn thing. That's the only way you'll know whether "omar" truly is the green of your dreams. Rewriting is a process to be fully experience and enjoyed, even not knowing how your story will unfold. If you think such experimenting is a waste of time you might be in the wrong line of work. Consider house painting.